The invention relates to a method of updating electronic operating instructions of a vehicle and to an operating instructions updating system.
In recent years, the continued rapid technological development in the field of vehicle engineering has focused mainly on the branch of vehicle electronics. Particularly in the field of luxury vehicles, this is accompanied by a constantly growing variety of functions. This multiplicity of functions always requires comprehensive operating instructions for a driver. Furthermore, because of electronic or software-related improvements in the course of a vehicle model cycle, there is a high updating demand with respect to these operating instructions.
Up to now, it has been possible to inform the driver or user of a vehicle with respect to the basic functions of a new vehicle and the components installed therein by means of operating instructions (manufacturer's instructions) printed on paper. In the meantime, as a result of the above-mentioned amount of information and the above-mentioned constant demand for information updating, such conventional operating instructions can no longer be efficiently utilized by the user and offered economically with the desired information quality by the manufacturer.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a technical teaching by which up-to-date operating instructions can be efficiently made available to a vehicle user.
This, and other, objects are achieved according to the invention. Advantageous further developments of the invention are also described herein.
According to the invention, for the purpose of an updating after a transmission of corresponding up-to-date operating instruction data objects from an external storage device to a vehicle, operating instruction data objects stored locally in the vehicle are modified, particularly updated, changed, replaced or amended. The frequency of the updating of an operating instruction data object depends on a data object category assigned to this object.
Depending on the embodiment, a separate data object category, such as a description, may be assigned to each operating instruction data object, or the same data object category may be assigned to several different operating instruction data objects.
By way of the invention, it is achieved that operating instruction data objects can be updated automatically, preferably electronically, particularly while including a mobile communication connection, the frequency of updating operations being based on a data object category assigned to the operating instruction data object.
Thus, automatically those operating instruction data objects, which describe, for example, software-related components of the vehicle, or which describe, for example, service addresses which, as experience shows, are changed more frequently, can be updated more frequently. In contrast, operating instruction data objects which describe images, logos or icons are preferably rarely updated.
As an alternative or in addition, operating instruction data objects, which describe, for example, optional equipment that is installed in the vehicle may be updated more frequently or always. In contrast, for example, operating instruction data objects, which describe optional equipment that is not installed in the vehicle, are rarely updated, not at all updated, or are even deleted from the local storage device of the vehicle.
The operating instruction data objects are stored locally in the vehicle. For example, they may be stored in a semiconductor memory or a hard disk drive, which can also be constructed to be removable from the vehicle, and which, for the purpose of updating, can be connected, for example, by way of a home PC to the Internet.
In order to adapt the electronic operating instructions to the vehicle user's requirements, it is provided according to an advantageous further development of the invention that a utilization factor, a utilization type, or a utilization quantity of the operating instruction data objects and/or of the corresponding data object category is automatically determined in the vehicle. The frequency of the updating of an operating instruction data object is a function of the utilization factor, the utilization type, or the utilization quantity of the operating instruction data object and/or the data object category assigned to this object.
Preferably one current status element, such as a version number, a version date or a vehicle type, respectively, is assigned to the operating instruction data objects, and an updating is a function of the current status element that is assigned to the local operating instruction date object, and/or is a function of the current status element that is assigned to the current operating instruction data object.
As a result, updates can, for example, always be carried out when the difference between the current status element of the current operating instruction data object and the current status element of the local operating instruction data object exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
The above-mentioned object is also achieved by an operating instruction updating system having a local storage device arranged in a vehicle for the storage of local operating instruction data objects, which are usable for the driver and can, for example, be displayed to the driver. The system also has an external storage device arranged outside the vehicle for storing current operating instruction data objects, which correspond to the local operating instruction data objects. In addition, the system has a transmitting device for transmitting current operating instruction data objects from the external storage device to the local storage device in order to modify the corresponding local operating instruction data objects for updating purposes in the local storage device corresponding to the current operating instruction data objects. A control device is arranged such that the frequency of the updating of an operating instruction data object is a function of the data object category assigned to the latter.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.